fe, Henry "acted as pilot and wore
a sailor's coat and trousers, made of cloth of gold, and a gold chain with
the inscription, '_Dieu est mon droit_,' to which was suspended a whistle
which he blew nearly as loud as a trumpet." A strange picture!

He was a practical architect, and Whitehall Palace and many other great
buildings owed their masonry to his hand.

He spoke French, Spanish, Italian and Latin with great perfection.

He said many wise things. Of the much-debated Divorce, Henry said: "The
law of every man's conscience be but a private Court, yet it is the
highest and supreme Court for judgment or justice." As the most unjust
wars have often produced the greatest heroisms, so the vilest causes have
often produced the profoundest utterances.

He appears to have been at peace with himself and complacent towards God.
In 1541, during his temporary happiness with Catherine Howard, he attended
mass in the chapel, and "receiving his Maker, gave Him most hearty thanks
for the good life he led and trusted to lead with his wife; and also
desired the Bishop of Lincoln to make like prayer, and give like thanks on
All Souls' Day."

Henry confessed his sins every day during the plague. When it abated, his
spirits revived, and he wrote daily love-letters to Anne Boleyn, whom he
had previously banished from the Court.

_As Moralist_

A stern moralist in regard to the conduct of others, he had an indulgence
towards himself which enabled him somewhat freely to interpret the Divine
right of Kings as "_Le droit de seigneur_." But it is human to tolerate in
ourselves the failings which we so rightly deprecate in our inferiors.

So strong was he in his self-assurance, that he made even his conscience
his slave.

Henry sometimes lacked regal taste. The night Anne Boleyn was executed he
supped with Jane Seymour; they were betrothed the next morning, and
married ten days later. It is also recorded that on the day following
Katharine's death, Henry went to a ball, clad all in yellow.

The commendation or condemnation of Henry's public life depends upon our
point of view--upon which side we take in the eternal strife between
Church and State.

In this dilemma we must then judge by results, for the truest expression
of a man is his work; his greatness or his littleness is measured by his
output. Henry produced great results, though he may have been the
unconscious instrument of Fate. The motives which guided him in his
deali